Washington Post on Track to Lose Money in 2022: Report

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The Washington Post is set to lose money in 2022 following profitable years, according to a report in The New York Times.

Times media reporters Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson, citing several sources at the Post, reported on Tuesday that the Post “now has fewer than the three million paying digital subscribers that it had hailed internally near the end of 2020.”

Citing “a recent internal financial document,” Mullin and Robertson reported that “digital ad revenue generated by the Post fell to roughly $70 million during the first half of the year, about 15 percent lower than in the first half of 2021.”

Mullin and Robertson also reported that the Post newsroom is considering “cutting 100 positions, according to several people with knowledge of the discussions,” by “hiring freezes for open jobs or other ways.” A Post spokesperson denied this and told the Times that the outlet is “exploring positions that should be repurposed to serve a larger, national and global audience.”

The Post has been owned by Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos since 2013.

According to Mullin and Robertson:

The downturn at The Post has set off frustration internally. Some top executives are concerned that [publisher and CEO] Mr. [Fred] Ryan, picked by Mr. Bezos to be the publication’s top business executive, hasn’t moved decisively enough to expand coverage. Some have also become irritated by the company’s halting marketing efforts, which are guided by Mr. Ryan, and inconclusive talks about acquiring another large news organization.